


Slice of Happiness

by phyto_krys



Series: Slice of Happiness... Series? [1]
Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Depression, Expanding storylines, Explicit Language, F/F, Inspired by Cyberpunk 2077, Personal take on the whole damn story plus before/after, Recreational Drug Use, Spoilers, WIP, future smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:01:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28586142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phyto_krys/pseuds/phyto_krys
Summary: Basically I love this game, world, and characters. And I wanted to show that love by stretching out the story, recreating it, and adding more details. Follows the female V streetkid path.Chapter 1-5: Set before game starts. V in Atlanta.Chapter 6-7: Night City: Prologue!
Relationships: Judy Alvarez/Female V, V/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Slice of Happiness... Series? [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137470
Comments: 15
Kudos: 94





	1. no goodbyes

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, new fic writer here, this chapter is set before where cp2077 begins and basically will explore V and Atlanta. Don't want to overly spoil it so, enjoy!

V

\--- * ---

_At el Coyote Cojo…_

The bar is filled with the sounds of laughter and conversation. Music from the _30 Principales_ radio station is in the background, not too loud to drown out the sound of the occasional plink of a cue ball hitting a billiard and ricocheting off the pool table. The walls are covered in a variety of Chicano styled skulls and floral patterns, reminiscent of the Valentinos gang. The interior is shrouded in pale red and yellow light. Its a stark contrast to the mainly blue and purple lighting of Night City.

The doors swing open revealing a tall, disheveled woman, no older than 20. Her all-black outfit, except for the grey tank top, hangs off her. She lifts her head up, revealing steel grey eyes, and her pupils dilate adjusting to the dull light.

V sits down at the bar. Motions for a shot. She shoves off her synth-leather jacket and lets it fall onto the back of the chair, it’s torn and covered in asphalt, just like the rest of her clothes. Pepe sets one down, quickly getting another ready. He’s seen this V before – tired and roughed up after a gig gone wrong. She downs the two shots and nods for another, a lightweight so they’ve already gone to her head.

“Listen Pepe, I need to get out of here,” V slurs as she tilts back another shot of Cenzon. She smacks it back onto the counter and gestures for another.

Pepe stares back at her. V had been drinking non-stop without saying a word on why she came in with such a nasty scrape running up her cheek. “Then get out of here V, ya gonk. No one’s forcing you to stay at the bar. I don’t even know what’s got you bothered and it’s not like you’ve taken the time to share.”

V groans in response and puts her head in her hands. She thinks, _What doesn’t have me bothered anymore?_ Once again has been slammed into the curb that Night City has been stomping her into since the day she could remember. The city that took her parents. The city that forced her to survive on the streets, barely making it gig to gig. The city that so far has taken every mile for every inch that V could offer.

“No – _hic_ – I mean out of Night City. I talked to this…” She forces a swallow to get rid of the hint of puke. “Sorry… chica in Watson. She works in a shop called Misty’s Eso-whatever, I don’t ‘member it, but she said that I was looking for a ‘slice of happiness’ or something. And The Fool tarot indicates – _hic_ – travel or m’self.” V lets out a sigh and slumps onto the bar, passing out.

“Oh great, there’s no waking you in this state” Pepe clears all the glasses away from V and starts to wipe down the counter. He sees someone sit down next to V out of the corner of his eye and turns to greet them.

“Oh, hey Padre, don’t see you here that often. You got business?”

Padre, the local Heywood fixer, lays a hand on V’s arm. “I heard that our rising star V had an incident involving her last gig, quite a few of them now. I wanted to pay her a visit and offer some sort of consolation… I see that she has had quite the fill already.”

“Yeah, choomba’s feeling down that’s for sure. She was spouting nonsense about leaving NC for good and finding some crazy ‘slice of happiness.’ Not the first time either she talked ‘bout leaving.”

“You know Pepe, maybe it is not so insane to want to seek happiness over being guided by Santa Muerte,” Padre lifts his hand off of V’s arm and gives it a gentle pat. “When she wakes up, be sure to tell her that I’m looking for her.” With that he gets up, nods to a few patrons, and walks through the front doors. A muscled bodyguard follows him out.

\--- * ---

Cold water splashes on V’s face, successfully shocking her awake after her drunken stupor.

“Ah fuuuck… wha’ happened?” She rolls her back out, it has gone stiff after being slumped over the bar and runs her hand through her hair. Early morning light shines through the windows highlighting the dark red streaks and reflects off her small golden hoops and industrial piercing.

“You’re a mess that’s what happened, and you have me reconsidering the free drinks offer.” Pepe was drying his hand at this point. “Almost had me dumping the entire pitcher on your head.”

“C’mon man, it was just a few drinks, plus you owe me a lot more than you remember,” V puts her head in her hands and rubs her temple furiously. She swings her legs around the bar stool and stands up, stretching as she goes. “Damn, do I look as hot as feel right now?” She says with a confident smirk, but it doesn’t reach her eyes where they’re still tired and hazed as ever.

“V, Padre’s lookin’ for you, he tried catching you here, but you were already well…,” he points to the puddle of drool on the counter.

“Shit, there goes my professionalism. Alright, I guess I gotta go find the old man now and attempt to redeem myself with this pile of failure. Thanks, Pepe, for relaying the message.” V turns around and struts towards the back door.

Pepe watched as she walked away, thinking back to last night where V nearly blew out her liver to escape Night City. He calls out, “Hey choomba, you have friends and a family here, remember that ‘kay? NC’s giving you the usual one-two, but she always calls back!”

The tired merc raises a hand in response and walks through the door. Her eyes darken and her smirk falls. She doesn’t want to hear how she should give Night City another damn chance. It’s like one toxic relationship that continues to suck you in and she’s ripping herself away as soon as she can.

\--- * ---

V walks through the alleys, shuffling towards the basketball court that she knows Padre will be hanging around this early in the day. She kicks around the trash. Her thoughts are somber and filled with ideas of how she can leave the city. _Could just stow away on some transport truck off to the Pacific Confederation. Or maybe, I can even manage to steal an AV and drink corp champagne all the way to the East_ coast. To her, it didn’t matter where the destination would be, just far away. Where she didn’t have to constantly look over her shoulder and see a corner where a choom died. She doesn’t remember the exact trigger for her fixation to get out of Night City, just that it hasn’t waned for months now and nothing has improved since. The city is still just full of dreams and V’s done dreaming.

She pushes through the fencing and finds Padre sitting on the bleachers in his usual spot. The mercenary takes another step towards him and he calmly turns his head to look at her, already noticing that she was there. He nods and waves her over.

V stands patiently in front of him. Rarely does she feel nervous or stressed, can’t be a good merc if you don’t keep a calm head – something that she was known for. Also, Padre was always kind to her and gave her opportunities to prove herself useful. When her parents died, Padre helped her stay on her feet. He may not have always been there for support, but she would be six feet under the landfill if it weren’t for him. There was nothing to fear, yet there was a tension in the air and V wasn’t sure what was about to happen.

“Hey Padre, heard you got somethin’ for me?” V says with confidence and ease that is best befitting for a mercenary. The fixer looks up from his book and gives a hard, see-into-your- soul stare that he was known for. V forces herself not to fidget.

“Yes, I do. You have had a couple bad runs, but I am trusting you with this one anyway. Consider it a test of faith.” He sighs and pulls out a biochip and hands it to V. “Put this in, it has all the details.”

V slots the biochip into a free neuro socket and her eyes fill with images displaying information on the job, the largest being a map of America. “I don’t understand, you sendin’ me away Padre?”

“No child. There’s a group of nomads from the Bakker clan that are striking it out on their own. They have their own business that involves moving cargo from Night City to the East Coast and they want extra muscle for the journey. Their clan disbanded and such they do not have the numbers that they used to in order to do this job easily. Though I must warn you that they specifically mention they are not looking for a new clan member, so you’re not walking into a new family. The job entails helping them up till Atlanta, from there I can arrange transport back to Night City.” He takes a long pause and waits for V to respond.

She’s taken back by the whole proposal and pops out the biochip. Several seconds pass without a word from her. Her mind racing at the possibilities. _I help these nomads and I can start a life somewhere new._ _Atlanta’s not too bad, I’ve heard good things, it’s not Night City, but I get to start over without all the baggage. Take the job and just ditch the transport back, no would know until I didn’t show up and that’s not the strangest thing to happen to a person._

As if he heard her last thoughts Padre stands, placing a hand on V’s shoulder. “I can also arrange a place to stay and a contact in Atlanta to get you started.” He feels her start to shake and grabs her by the other shoulder, ignoring the onlookers. “It does not take long for me to hear someone struggling and in need,” he looks her in the eyes, “I can also arrange a trip back if you change your mind. Now go with God, say your goodbyes, and find happiness.”

The mercenary blinks away the emerging tears and looks up at him with her iconic smirk. “Thanks Padre, but I don’t do goodbyes… consider them bad luck.” She turns and vaults over the brick wall, gathers her thoughts, and sprints to her shithole apartment.

\--- * ---

_The Badlands, outskirts of Night City…_

V holds her hungover head in her hands, not twenty-four hours ago was she doing this same exact thing. She thinks to herself; _I need to stop drinking so much_. _But last night was different. It wasn’t depression doing the drinking, it was hope this time – bah! Such a sap._

> Instead of goodbyes, she called everyone she knew to the Coyote for one hell of a party. She ordered as many free drinks as she could and drank ‘till she could barely stand straight. There was even a second celebration happening to the side, some new kid joining the Valentinos, another Welles kid joining the gang against his better judgement.
> 
> Before leaving the bar and never looking back at Night City, V called everyone around and told them her plans. She didn’t want them thinking she had disappeared and offed herself, there had been too much of that happening. That would be too much pain for everyone, plus they would never had found her and that would just add to the torture. The crowd cheered and many drank to her decision, plenty just scoffed and rolled their eyes, eddies changing hands, no doubt a bet for how long this Atlanta plan would last. V ignored them, just filled with foolish excitement for beginning a new journey.
> 
> V tore herself from the crowd, ready to leave and finish her preparations back at the apartment. Then some Valentino brawler, decided he wanted a fight to break her ideals, Night City’s last chance to win her back with a brawl. She quickly dashed back and then sent him flying back to the booths with one swift punch. It was absolutely pathetic but served as a reminder to everyone there that V was still a badass, just choosing a new path. Amongst the mayhem, V silently turned out the door without a wave.

They can be heard before they’re seen, a cacophony of engines, tires turning through sand, and horns blaring across the dessert. V looks up, surprised to only see that it was just a few trucks making all this noise, not nearly the number of nomads she expected for an across country gig.

 _This is going to be a tough one, isn’t it V?_ She lifts herself off her burner car, the last thing she’s ready to abandon to Night City. No way it was going to make it farther than here, maybe it’ll be picked up by another crew for parts or it’ll just turn to rust sitting in the sun forever. V shrugs and raises a hand towards the Nomads as they skid to a halt nearby.

What seems like the leader of the crew waves her over. “You’re V, right? Padre said you’re the best. Get in the back, you’ll be sitting by the cargo for the ride.”

“The back? How fortunate for me.” V smirked and rolled her eyes, she knew that she wasn’t going to be treated as a new crew member, but at least more than just some meat shield for their transport. The mercenary also knew it was better not to ask questions, but she could never resist. “Whatcha carrying across the border?”

“I thought mercs shouldn’t ask questions. Truck.” He said with a hoarse huff and signaled to the rest of the nomads to start their engines again.

V rolled her eyes and wondered how long it was going to take these nomads to get her killed. She sent one last look out to Night City, the warmth of the Sun bounces off her face and for a moment a look of fear flashes across her eyes. She swallows it back, replacing the feeling with a confident grin and vaults into the back of the truck, slinging her rifle off her back in one fluid movement. Giving a couple resounding thunks onto the roof of the truck, the nomads, with V in tow, were off.

\--- * ---


	2. atlanta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V arrives in Atlanta and meets the local fixer, as well as, someone unexpected.

V

\--- * ---

_Outskirts of Atlanta…_

“V! Hey V! We’re almost there, get up you log.” The voice from the radio pierced through her nap and V quickly stood up. She had to catch herself from leaping out of her makeshift bed or else she would have jumped out of the moving nomad truck. She’s still confined to the back of the truck next to the cargo, but she was able to scavenge an old car seat from a wreck in New Mexico and turned it into a comfortable spot.

The atmosphere around her and the nomads had changed considerably since she first joined them. V did spend all of her life on the streets of Night City after all. Plus, she was pretty good at reading people. All it took was one firefight near the Texas border and a couple of well-timed drunken jokes. She wasn’t considered family, but the outright animosity was no more.

V hooks her feet into her chair and balances herself against the cargo crate. Secured, she stretches out and looks forward at the sunrise. The wind carries her now longer hair back and she tucks the loose sides behind her ears. This feeling of embracing the world and grabbing it by the teeth doesn’t escape her and she lets out a laugh. _The air feels different here, warm and wet._

The nomad leader opens the back window and joked at her. “Are you trying to get yourself shot again? Don’t know your limits yet?”

“Ah shuddup Shephard, I got you this far haven’t I?” V sends a reassuring smile through the glass. “And anyway, I thought you nomads loved this shit too.”

He slid the pane shut. V could see him shake his head and laugh. She really bonded with these folks over the past month, something she didn’t expect to do. Remember, _these guys have been great, but they were just a means to get here. The goal is Atlanta._

V bounces down back onto her chair and reopens the truck’s back window. “Anyway, are you still not goin’ to tell me what I’ve been protecting this whole time? Would make me not hold how I only got one shower a week this whole time over your head.”

He ignores her and signals the crew to slow down and pull over to the meet up point. “This is where we leave you, Padre said you have the plans from here, is that right?”

“Yeah, got it right here, I’ll be good.” V jumps out of the back and lands hard on the sparce grass. “Get out of here now, you got places to be.”

The small group of nomads get out of their cars and trucks. _Oh shit no._ Her face must have showed her dread cos all the nomads started roaring with laughter.

“What is it V? You can’t handle us saying farewell?” Shephard said, trying to catch his breath. “You nearly bit the dust saving my back from a wraith’s bullet, but this has you scared. Can’t just smirk out of this one.” He tilts his head forward, chuckles, and shakes his head. “I asked Padre to get us a thick-headed merc, yet you were something special. We want to say thank you for helping us get here.” The other nomads cheer in support and push each other over to show their appreciation for the merc. Shephard walks forward and puts his hand out to V.

Stunned and can’t move, she looks at his hand as if it could spit poison. Quick as a snake, she knocks it aside, spinning him around in the process, and pushes him back towards his crew. V turns around before anyone could see her face and brushes off a tear. _God dammit, don’t get emotional now, you gonk. Didn’t even cry at the Coyote._

The nomads roar with laughter again at the act and Shephard just shows off a small grin. “Alright kid, I get it. Everyone let’s get out of here before she turns that revolver on us!” In a softer voice, “stay safe in there, call if you need.”

V nods, still with her back to them. _Goodbye everyone. Thanks for everything too._ She turns around as the nomads loaded back into their vehicles and started their ritual honking and engine revving. She watched them leave, with an ever-confident smirk hiding her true thoughts.

\--- * ---

“Welcome to Atlanta.” The driver says sourly, “I’m sure you’ll find somethin’ to do with yourself here. Not sure why you would leave Night City for it though.”

He had been trying to get V to talk about her life since she had gotten into the car. _Jeez this guy is determined_. She rolls her eyes and keeps them fixed looking out the car window. “I have plans with a local fixer already to do business… and NC is overrated.” The last part said with steel.

The cityscape reflects off the car’s windows. It’s quieter than Night City and a little less bright, but it’s still bustling with activity. AVs circling the sky, tall screens advertising sex and the newest reality show, corp buildings loom over the city, and streets packed with people. Everywhere she looked there was a sight to see, especially within the alleys where shady dealings were prevalent. There will be plenty of merc work here and maybe opportunities in other departments.

Catching V off guard for once, the car lurches to a stop in front of a small club, the neon sign reading ‘Starlight Parlor.’ It’s a simple front. The sign filled with blinking lights to mimic stars, the entrance being two purple doors between white concrete columns. The sidewalk was crowded by groupies and the door was blocked by a single bouncer. V could see herself settling jobs within those doors.

She hops out the car and leans back to the driver. “Uh, thanks for picking me up and not killing me or whatev’. I would’ve had a hard time getting here otherwise.” The driver nods and speeds off.

V drags a hand through her hair and takes in a deep breath; not one to get nervous entering a bar since she’s practically lived in one her entire life, but these are new streets. _Alright now or never, let’s see who this fixer is and what he’s got for me._ The merc struts to the bouncer and surprisingly, was already moving to the side for her to walk in. He stops her as she gets to the door, “go to the back, he’s waiting for you there.”

The doors swing open to a moderately filled night club. The décor is simple and kept dark. Local music is blasting, deafening the sound of quiet conversations. People of all types can be seen drinking at tables and in private rooms, either having fun or doing business. _Guess this is about what I expected for a fixer locale. ‘Bout what I imagine the Afterlife to be._ V walks to the back room and finds a circular booth currently occupied by a man and a woman in a heated discussion. The woman, partially obscured by the height of the seats, so V fails to get a look at her; the man sits in the middle of the seats and dominates the space, arms spread wide showing off his menacing build. He looks up when he notices V, interrupts his current discussion with a smile, and beckons V towards the room.

“V, all the way from Night City, you finally made it.” The Atlanta fixer greets her with a deep voice. “Name’s William, C’mon sit down.”

V takes the seat opposite the woman and finally gets the chance to see her. _Fuck._ She has her arms crossed and stares off in the direction away from both the fixer and V. Her black hair tumbles over her shoulder. V can’t help but feel intrigued and drawn to her presence.

“Sebastian filled us in about you V. Wanting to leave NC and start up a new life. I think we can work well together, I also thought that NC wasn’t worth its damn weight in gold and decided to strike it off in a new place. And here we are, I forged a new domain.” William glances at the woman who’s still glaring into space, “I’ll get you set up and line up a few jobs.”

V tears her eyes off the mystery woman and leans back, crossing her arms in turn. “What’s the catch? Padre calls you on the holo and suddenly I have a life laid out for me here.”

The fixer leans forward, putting his hands on the table, a golden cross peaks out just under his collar. “No catch, no bullshit. Consider it me betting on a rookie horse recommend by a man I trust. No need to discuss it further.” He sends a sharp look over his shoulder to the other woman and then back to V.

The woman huffs and raises her voice. “Right, let’s not discuss how we’re letting this wannabe merc who couldn’t handle Night City into our community with open arms.” Getting more worked up, she gets up and paces around the booth, still not looking at either V or William. “Not to mention, you have fuck all in experience and have been getting by on what? Pure chance and luck. No wonder you –” She finally turned to face V, eyes flashing wide. At a normal voice, “left Night City” She sits back down, keeping her eyes fixed on V.

“Ignore her, Maria just has some… hesitations.” The fixer waves his hands in the air. “Anyway, you’re right. I’m not goin’ to let you just start taking gigs on your own; you’re a puppy, a damn lucky puppy with good instincts. And I have one rule anyway – my people work in pairs, less fuck ups.”

V rolls her eyes and smirks. “Padre called me a puppy? …course he did.” She sighs and leans back into the soft leather booth. “Fine, I’ll play by the rules. Who‘m I workin’ with then?”

Maria coughs, catching V’s attention. “Me.”

_Ah fuuuck me._

\--- * ---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks for reading up to this far and I hope you enjoyed it. I'll try to stay consistent and post a new chapter soon enough. If you have any comments Id by happy to hear em. Stay healthy chooms.


	3. warm welcoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V and Maria get to know another.

V

\--- * ---

After a couple seconds of awkward silence William’s voice breaks through. “I’ll leave you two…” He pauses to find the right words. “…to figure things out and get to know each other. There’s no getting out of it, everyone’s paired up ‘sides you two, so… just don’t kill each other.” The fixer chuckles at his own joke. Neither V nor Maria respond to him. Oblivious to the tension between the two woman he corrects himself. “Well actually, this is my booth and I have a call to make so, don’t let the door hit y’all on the way out.”

V shakes out of her own head and nervously massages her own neck. “Right... wanna get a drink?” She gestures out to the open bar.

The two finally scootch and get up from the booth. As they leave, the fixer clicks Padre’s name on his phone. “Yeah, she’ll do fine here, may have lost this one for good, ol’ friend.”

\--- * ---

_A couple hours later…_

V and Maria’s glasses clinking together could be heard over the music playing in the club. Most of the locale had left, leaving them alone at the bar, not that they would notice that they were the amongst the few left in the _Starlight Parlor_. Maria had easily taken control of the conversation and V was able to get over her helplessness in her presence after a couple of drinks.

“Alright, you’ve told me all the things that happened when travelling with the nomads, and I’m going to be honest, they’re a little boring.” Maria takes a drink from her cocktail and turns to face V. “When are you going to tell me why are you really here? Is NC that bad you had to go and run away from it?”

V bristled at Maria’s question. _Damn. Straight to the point with that one._ She tries to buy some time to think of an answer. “Hey! Those were meaningful times for me, ya know. I wasn’t goin’ to call that gig where you just had to go off some corpo-rat boring.”

Maria throws her head back and laughs. Leaning towards V, she places a hand on her thigh. “You’re not going to distract me V, just answer the question. Why’d you leave?” She asks with a slight breathiness to her voice.

V’s heart quickens when she feels Maria’s contact on her thigh. Trying to ignore it, she looks at her glass. _Fuck. Fuck. Her hand – can’t think. She’ll think imma gonk for sure with the truth._ “Don’t laugh, okay? The City of Dreams is nothing but smog and broken promises. I had friends, a place to crash, but I wasn’t going anywhere. I’m here looking for a…” V hides her head into her hands and say under her breath, “a slice of happiness.”

“No! You’re kidding!” Maria lifts her hand off V’s thigh to her face and tries to cover her laughter. Failing to do so she bends over in a fit of giggles. “That’s the sappiest thing I’ve ever heard from anybody let alone another merc. You sure you can handle killing a fly?”

 _Why’d I tell the truth?_ V downs the last drop of the amber-colored liquid in her glass, averts her gaze from Maria, and shifts to get up from the bar. “Listen, it’s late, I’m gonna –” Maria interrupts her.

“Let me drive you to your place. We got you set up in an apartment not far from here. It’s not amazing by any standards, but it has what you’ll need until you settle in.”

“Whaa…” V panics and heat sears through her cheeks. Quickly gaining her composure, thanks to the alcohol, she covers her momentary fumble. “I mean, yeah. That’s a great idea, lead the way.” V holds out her hand.

Maria gets up and nods at the bartender. She assertively grabs V’s hand, pulls her out of her chair, and leads her out the back of the club to a car. “Well, get in.” Maria says with a sly smile.

\--- * ---

Maria

The car ride is a blur. Buildings pass quickly. Street signs are intelligible. The car skids to a halt in front of V’s new apartment complex.

Maria punches the ‘call elevator’ button and looks at V. She wasn’t expecting to be so infatuated by her. In fact, she had planned the exact opposite, scare and intimidate her back to Night City. William told her about their new recruit weeks ago and she immediately disapproved. She knew that she was in line to get set up with a new partner cos of William’s damn rules and refused to be with an outsider. He didn’t budge and considered the discussion closed, although she did try to convince him one last time tonight at the club. Then V sat down in the booth.

Maria hadn’t given the pictures of her much time, but she knew they didn’t hold a single light to V in person. The month of riding with the nomads had its effect on her. V’s skin was sun-kissed, showing off small freckles on her cheeks and shoulders. She had gotten leaner and more toned. Her hair had also grown out a bit and flopped to one side with a bit of curl. But it was her eyes that she noticed the biggest difference, they were brighter and filled out her face more.

The elevator gate creaks open. A fiery tension fills the air between them. 

V chuckles awkwardly filling the moment. “I can find my way from here, I think.” She avoids Maria’s eyes, blushing. “Just tell me the number.”

 _Fuck professionalism._ Maria grabs V and pushes her against the wall of the elevator car. She presses the seventh floor and finds V’s mouth with hers.

Maria smothers the small gasp that escaped V’s lips and traps her against the now closed chain-linked elevator gate. Her tongue darts out and claims her mouth, tasting everything that V has to offer. Heat fills her lower stomach when V’s tongue meets hers, clashing against each other and moving to their own rhythm.

The elevator reaches the correct floor and the gate, again, opens. V begins to tilt back, and her hands instinctively claw at Maria’s back. _Oh shit! This beautiful gonk has the balance of a one-legged droid._ Maria lets out a laugh and keeps a firm grip on V’s hip; taking advantage of her disorientation, Maria spins V around and pulls her towards the apartment door.

Leaning against the door, she presses V’s hand against hers. Their eyes light up as the door’s keycode is transferred between the two and it quickly opens with a rush of air that sweeps over the pair. Maria grabs a fistful of V’s tank top and pulls her through the door toward the bed. A quick hand pushes underneath the fabric, raking up V’s side leaving behind a trail of red marks, and cups her breast. Her thumb circles her hard nipple and gives it a tug, forcing a moan from V. Maria pulls V’s tank top over her head and throws it behind her.

The back of V’s knees hit the edge of the mattress and she tumbles onto it. Maria disentangles from V’s hands and doesn’t follow her down on the bed. Instead, she takes a moment to stand over and look at V. Her eyes swiftly trail the snake tattoo that twists around V’s body and her heart tattoo. Down to her toned abs and the curve of her hips. Then back up to V’s bedroom eyes, messy hair, and slight grin. Maria lays down onto the bed, resting on her elbow next to V.

They join in another deep kiss, crossing tongues and nipping at each other’s lips. Maria’s wondering hand, trails from the base of V’s neck down past her breasts, across her stomach, and finally hooks the top of V’s pants. 

Practically panting, V starts to slide them off and bites her bottom lip toward Maria. _So eager and fun to play with…._ Maria stands up and helps V, leaving the pants a heap on the floor. She presses her thigh against V’s apex and undresses under her watchful gaze. 

V, tenderly, pulls her back down. Embracing each other and fully entangled, they both share and relish in the pleasures that their company brings them, until fully satisfied.

\--- * ---

V

_Later…_

“And this?” V panic waves between them. “What are we going to do about what just happened?”

“Nothing. This was just a one-time thing that caught me in the moment. It means nothing.” Maria shakes her head, as if trying to convince herself as well, and pulls away from V. “Consider it a welcome gift if you have to define it.”

“Best welcome gift, I’ve ever gotten.” V says in a husky voice and clears her voice. “So, we’ll just be partners?”

“Enough with the questions, you ask too many. We are partners and we’ll keep it that way.” Maria gets up and starts putting on her clothes. “I still have to show you how to be a proper mercenary anyway, something that those NC whores and gang bangers never taught you apparently. And I can’t do that if we’re fucking.”

V straightens up, disturbed by her words, and finds her shirt thrown over the nightstand. “Fine, deal. One condition. Don’t refer to working women as whores, in front of me, again.” Her eyes flash with anger.

“Hmm, I’ll think about it. Rest. I’ll give you a call when we have a gig.” With that Maria saunters out of the apartment.

V watched her go, unsure about what just happened. _God dammit V. How is this ever going to work out well?_ She throws her body back against the bed and closes her eyes. _What a day. First the nomads and now this. And somehow this bed is worse than the chair I had in the truck._ She finds sleep hard at first, but eventually settles down thinking of precious moments with Maria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Hope y'all liked it lol sorry for the light smut. New update coming soon, thanks for reading this far!


	4. trouble in atl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life in Atlanta isn't that easy, is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update... I've been balancing binge watching Rizzoli and Isles (Im embarrassed to admit it) as well as work. But here it is and it starts off with a major time skip, groan. I want to get back to Night City, but if there's any interest in a side story line for more in depth Atlanta content, I could be persuaded. Anyway enjoy and thanks for the support!

V

\--- * ---

_Sixth months later…_

Much has changed for V during her time in Atlanta. Her reckless demeanor and Heywood state of mind suppressed under the cool and calculating mercenary that has been groomed out of her. Though at the moment, she was preoccupied with not getting her head blown off by the gangbanger of the week.

V ducks her head behind an overturn table as the space above fills with bullets. _What a pain. These two gigs were supposed to be quick smash and grabs._ “I thought they didn’t know we were comin’ Maria.” _So annoying._ “What the hell’s the plan now?”

Maria’s voice comes through the phone link. “Plan’s not changed. Incapacitate these guys out, grab the data shard, get out – easy. I’ll move and draw their fire, then you… impress me.” She chuckles and ends the call.

_Did she just…goddammit._ V hears the gunfire shift away from her and launches around her cover. There’s a thrill that fills V when she’s in a firefight. The smell of recently fired guns and the sight of smoke and sparks lingering on the end of the barrel. The echoes and ringing in her ears fueled by adrenaline. The beat of her heart against her chest – a calm and steady rhythm, even before the months of training.

_Six total on the ground floor. Two on the second floor._ V moves forward to the closest goons who were shooting at her with a quick dodge, Unity pistol in hand. Before they noticed that she was approaching, two bullets were in each of their chest and they fall in unison, jerking from electrical shocks. V jumps over them and slides back into cover. _Two down…where’s Mar –_ “V!” A spray of blood and Maria’s voice cuts through her thought. It wasn’t a cry for help, but more a quick command.

V, without hesitation, turns and empties her pistols clip into the side of the gang member approaching Maria’s position. _There always has to be a test with her. Four down._

Noticing V’s distraction, the two remaining gangsters rushed forward. One with a katana and the other brandishing a double barrel shotgun.

_Ah great, the impatient ones are ready now…_ V rolls her eyes and sees Maria leaning on the rails of the second floor enjoying a cigarette. _Of course… ‘impress me.’_ V grabs her belt for a new clip and finds none. _Shit, not now gonk brain._

Katana-goon reaches V first and takes a swing at her. She easily dodges it with a sidestep, putting her in front of shotgun-goon, who aims down the sights. Sparks alight the

barrel followed by the smell of gunpowder – the thrill of a firefight. In one swift motion, V grabs the man with the katana and flips him over her in front of the shotgun blast. At the same time V’s eyes light up sapphire blue and loads a quick hack into the remaining gang member.

With the last one hacked, Maria jumps down and saunters to V. “I think that was your best performance yet.” She says while raising her revolver to the head of the still standing gang member. “It looks like you really were paying attention after all this time babe, though you still need to work on finishing people off.” She pulls the trigger.

“Babe? Oh, are we on again today?” V steps away and reloads her pistol. Irritated, V starts looking through the pockets of the dropped gang members to find the target datashard. _Just gotta find this damn thing and I can go._ After a few seconds she finds it with the guy who she loaded her last clip into.

“Also, you didn’t have to shoot him.” V gestures at the disfigured body near Maria. “He was under _my_ control and about to drop unconscious. Here I thought you were working on respecting my damn opinions on mercy.”

“V, don’t be this way. Can you stop acting like I’m the only problem between us?”

V was reaching the end of her rope with Maria. For V, she was everything here in Atlanta, teacher, partner, and more complicated, on/off again lover. But the last couple months have been hell with her, V could do everything that Maria wants yet she always managed to find ways where V was never enough. Whenever she confronted Maria about her feelings, they would always get brushed away and often, the night would just end in make-up sex – never solving the problem.

Being pushed to edge, V raises her voice, and it echoes through the warehouse. “All you do is put me down and act like it’s me who needs to change.” She slams her gun into its holster. In a much quieter voice. “I love you, but can’t you see that you hurt me?”

Maria walks towards V again and touches her arm. “Listen, clearly we have some… things to work out, but we have another gig we should get to. V, I want to figure this out, can we just do it later?”

Still hotheaded and refusing to be brushed off again, V takes a stand. “No, I can’t Maria! Fuck, I’ve had it. You want to run and do the gig so bad, do it alone.” The merc turns and stomps out of the gang hangout.

\--- * ---

_A couple hours later in V’s apartment…_

V’s been pacing ever since she got back home. She runs her hands back and forth through her hair as she tries to comfort herself. 

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. I just had to get angry. No, she was doing it again and ignoring what I was saying. I should have just shut up and went with her on the next gig. Fuck. Stupid. What should I do? Do I call her again? No. If she needs help, she’ll call me. She would call me. She’s not the stupid one here. Dammit, what if she gets hurt? I’ll never hear the end of it. God, what do I do?_

_I should go find her. I know where the gig is and it’s not far from here. But if she’s in there still I could blow her cover and put her in more danger… Unless Maria’s already hurt. Stop. She taught you. It’s an easy gig, just a hit on some guy, in and out. Then why is it taking so long?_

V stopped pacing. She rubs her temples, trying to ease the pain of the headache that’s formed from debating and going over scenarios in her head for two hours.

The phone’s beeping tears V from her thoughts. It was the fastest she has ever moved. V grabs her cell and immediately jacks in to see the notification. _A voice message? Maria?_

Maria’s voice fills her ears. 

“Hey V –” A round of painful coughs interrupts the message. “Guess I’m not so bulletproof like we thought huh?” More coughs and the sound of gunfire can be heard in the background. “I should’ve answered your calls earlier… I need help. I killed the bastard but he managed to – doesn’t matter. I’m sorry ‘bout… so much. I’ll ping… location… I love – _line disconnected.”_

For a second the world stops. V feels acid in the back of her throat, and she can’t breathe. The mercenary falters and stares at her phone, willing the message to be a cruel joke. Moments later, a set of coordinates illuminate the screen with Maria’s signature at the bottom.

The mercenary nearly throws the apartment door off the hinges and races to her car.

\--- * ---

An alleyway filled with blood. Maria’s body stretched out on the cement, in her last moments she was still trying to crawl away. Those who killed her didn’t seem bothered to move her and just left her there.

V bends down next to her body and reaches out to touch her, just to stroke her cheek. She stretches her fingers and at the last moment, is overcome with shakes. Clenching her fist to control the emotions overwhelming her.

A sound around the corner catches her ear and she leaps off ground to chase the noise. Her heartbeat roaring in her ears. She sees nothing but red as she follows the blood trail and noises to a nearby base – the gig location. A quick observation notes that most of the gathered scavs are injured in a trademark Maria fashion.

V doesn’t slow to assess the situation. The merc leaps at them with a ferociousness that she was unaware of. Acting only on pure instinct, V lets her body move swiftly through the bodies. Not expecting a second assault so soon after their own leaders defeat, the scavs fall easily. One by one, they are eviscerated with the last things they experience being a flurry of gunshots and steel.

She stands over them all and makes sure they’re all dead with a neck breaking kick to the head. A small part of her, in the back of her mind, recoils at the act. _Back to Maria. Need to get her out of here._

V finds her way back to Maria. Suppressing the shakes and tears, V gently pushes her arms under Maria’s body. Supporting her head, she lifts her up. A foot off the grown, Maria’s revolver falls out of its holster and clangs against the ground. V shifts her weight and reaches for the gun and twists it in her hand to look at the handle. A ‘V’ and an ‘M’ are carved into the wood with a heart in between, a detail that V never noticed until now.

V stops shaking and can only stare at the carving. In a sudden movement, she throws her own unity pistol out of its holster and tucks Maria’s revolver into it. With care not seen until now, V pulls Maria close to her chest and carries her out of the back alley. The streetlight pools yellow light onto her face, highlighting her strong features.

The sky spills open, dropping heavy rain onto the two of them. A lightning strike cracks across the clouds. In the brief illumination, V’s eyes are cast in shadow and sunken in. As she leaves, the rain washes away the carnage of the night, leaving no trace of the two mercenaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry sorry sorry sorry. Sorry. I'll update soon... sorry.


	5. loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V deals with Maria's death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys as a warning this may be a pretty rough chapter, it was difficult for me to write, but here she is. 
> 
> tw -- depression, brief mention of suicide at the very beginning

V

\--- * ---

_V’s apartment (Atlanta)…_

Grey light filters through the shutters of V’s apartment. The vertical beams of light reveal a still apartment, though clouded in past mayhem. The interior of the apartment looks like a personal hurricane tore through it. Trash scattered across the floor. Contents of shelves are knocked over or thrown across the room. The only thing that remains, seemingly untouched, is a single framed photo on the table next to the bed.

At the center of the destruction is none other than V. After a display of ferocity and pain, she sits unmoving on the one bare portion of the floor, unaware how much time has passed or if time is passing at all. Within her hands she holds the keepsake from Maria – the revolver with their engraved initials. She stares at it with a fallen heart and eyes filled with hopelessness.

When she does move, it’s only to raise the revolver to her head. Only for a brief moment until she lets it fall back into her lap and resume her still position. An attempt to bargain for her life. In these moments her mind is filled with a single unilateral thought – Maria. She had been her world here in Atlanta, for better and for worse. Now that she’s gone, V is empty. A void of constant spinning memories. Her first day in Atlanta. Training days. Gigs and post-success celebrations. The many fights with Maria and also the joy with her.

V can’t help but fixate on the memory of their last fight. She had sent her on that gig to fail, the ultimate betrayal. Something that William made sure she knew at the funeral.

> It was a small gathering at the columbarium for Maria’s funeral. At this point, V had no more tears to shed and stared ahead at the blue lettering on the stone wall. She had picked the engraving, it was her right as her partner, through work alone. “A slice of happiness to cut through the pain.” V knew it was selfish of her to bury Maria with her own saying from Night City. But from the beginning, Maria had always made fun of V for it and it had since became their own secret joke.
> 
> After the ceremony, the Atlantan fixer had pulled her aside. He made it clear that V’s work with him was over and that he had no intention to reassign her with a new partner. From there, V was no longer able to hear and understand what he told her. She noticed that, after a while once he stopped talking, he gave her a small smile and slipped something in her hand.
> 
> V then returned to her apartment alone and began throwing things, pulling herself further into a hole of depression.

\--- * ---

_Months later…_

A switch flips in V, a miniscule increase in energy and clarity. She holsters Maria’s – no _her_ – revolver and stands up. It’s painful. Her body aches and it’s nearly impossible to move. Filled with new determination, she opens the blinds and lets light stream through the apartment. She looks away at the mess of her apartment and stares outside.

V doesn’t know if it’s been days, weeks, or months, since she last left her apartment. All she knows is that it’s time. Time for her to get up and figure out her life again.

The first thing that V notes is that no one came looking for her. She didn’t make any friends or associates in Atlanta. _Don’t think about that now V. It won’t do any good now. Your life here is over… honestly maybe it didn’t really start._

She goes to the bathroom mirror and flicks it on. She wipes her face with water and tries to splash life back into her eyes that have gone grey and dim. V’s face has gone haggard after the longtime of neglect. Stepping away from the mirror, V finally takes a long look at apartment.

The merc goes about picking up trash, trying to piece together what happened and how long she has trapped herself in the apartment. Eventually, she fines a note that she doesn’t immediately recognize addressed to her by her full name. The lettering is done in gold and has a familiar calligraphy. _When did I get this?_

V leans on the closest wall and slides down it. Her hand now covers her mouth as she continues to stare down at the slight golden curl of the V in Valerie. _Padre?_

She sees a flash of the funeral. Specifically, the moments where William was talking to her. _He handed me something._

V tears the letter open, tips it downward, and lets a datashard fall into her open hand. She slams it into her head and sees Padre’s face. _He hasn’t changed a bit that ol’ geezer._ A short laugh escapes her lips, and it fills her with guilt.

Padre’s voice continues to fill V’s head. He informs V that he was notified that she wanted to come back home, but he doesn’t know the why and when. He also was not going to provide who told him this in the first place. Though, at the end of the video, V gets a ticket to Night City from Atlanta uploaded to her database.

V takes her time to eject the datashard out of her neural slot. For the first time in a while, she feels a bit hopeful, though the feeling comes with the wave of guilt. It would take time for this feeling to pass, but she’s decided the best place to do that would be back home in NC.

She grabs a bag and throws a couple simple outfits into it, along with some ammo, but avoids all other personal effects. She takes, one last look around the apartment and she settles on the untouched, framed photo on her nightstand. She tucks it in the bag, checks that her revolver is against her body, and leaves the apartment. _First transport out of here, just need to say one last goodbye to Maria._

\--- * ---

William

_The Starlight Parlor…_

The fixer was nursing a drink while sitting in his personal booth at the bar. Occasionally someone would interrupt him with news or ask for his opinion on a contact. In between those moments today, he was deep in conflicted thoughts about V’s whereabouts and how he handled her many months ago.

He assigned a few people to watch over her apartment and assure her safety while she grieved, but he was beginning to think that it was time to withdraw. There has been very little news from his guys. V’s been camped in her apartment, doesn’t leave and hasn’t received any friendly or unfriendly visitors.

_She’s just been sitting in there for the better part of a year. Shoulda given her more support at the funeral – not solely her fault about Maria’s death. I oversold kicking her out of the family, just wanted her to go back to Night City. She never fit in here. All I can do is make sure she’s safe until she chooses to leave._

His phone rings and pulls him out of his thoughts. An image of one of his guys that watches V’s apartment pops up.

“Hey, sir. There’s been some activity. She’s leaving now, has a bag all packed.”

William had been waiting a long time for this call. “Good. Pull out the guys, she doesn’t need the protection no more.”

“Sir?” An unspoken question lingers in the air, but there’s no way he was going to ask it. “Should we follow her and tell you where she’s goin’?”

“No need. I have an idea where she’s headed.” He ends the call, gestures for one of his men to follow him, and leaves the bar.

\--- * ---

V

_It’s been nearly seventh months Maria. I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. What you would say to me if you would have seen me for the past few months. You definitely would think I’m silly for thinking that I needed to say goodbye to you one last time before leaving. Ha… you would think I’m a coward for leaving at all._

V reached out a hand towards Maria’s name carved on the columbarium wall. She falters at the last minute, her breath catching in her chest. _Maybe I am a coward. I can’t even… touch the alcove where you’re placed in. Can’t even…_ Tears begin to fall down V’s face. _Dammit._

Months of silent conversations poor out of V. Regrets. Pain. And memories of joy. Towards the middle of her visit, a clarity washes over her. An acceptance of what happened. It became easier to talk and the tears slowed. At the end V is sitting against the columbarium wall with one hand above her tracing Maria’s marker and inscription. “I gotta get back to Night City M, but I’ll remember you.”

V pushes herself off the ground and turns around to give one last look at Maria’s resting place. She feels a presence behind her, but months of her depressive state have nulled and delayed her instincts to respond to it.

“I figured I would find you here.” V recognizes the deep, Southern voice of – _William!_

She fills her lungs with one big breath to bring up the rest of her energy for the day. “Yeah, I wanted to say one last goodbye before leaving your city for good. I know you wanted me gone the day of her funeral.” There was a familiar steel in edge to her voice that was reminiscent to hers and Williams first meeting.

“I was…” He hesitates to find the right words. “too harsh. I just wanted to take back what I said, if you want to stay here in Atlanta, we can make it work. I know Maria didn’t hand out compliments easily, but you were a damn good merc and I’d like for you to stay.”

V had already made up her mind but hearing William’s confession oddly made her chuckle. “No, but good try. I though NC was alone in tryin’ to keep suckers to stay.” V sends one last longing look to Maria. “But I have to go, my adventure for happiness here is over.”

With that she turns her heal and leaves. Doesn’t look back to see William watching her go. Doesn’t hear him laugh or hear what he says to Maria’s markings. Her slice of life in Atlanta has come to a close. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will take a bit, but I will get it done as fast as I can. I'm excited to say we'll be back in Night City! The next few chapters will be considerably less depressing and I'm excited to write them. Any feedback is much appreciated. Thank you again for y'alls support. Stay healthy!


	6. back in town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V's back in Night City. Set during the prologue.

V

\--- * ---

_Streets of Night City…_

A single streetlamp illuminates V, outlining her height and lanky, but strong build. She leans against the concrete wall of a Heywood-corner building with one foot up and stares off towards the blue-purple halo of light from City Center. Her clothes are torn from sleeping in dark alleyways for the past few weeks. The smell of Night City lingered on her skin despite many secret showers in bars and diners. V was beginning to feel the strain of sleepless nights, missed meals, and the overall hustle of Night City.

In order to get back on her feet she was desperate to take on any gigs. Her name still has some recognition in the neighborhood, so it wasn’t impossible to find a job. All she had to do was post her name on a shady ‘Merc-for-Hire’ website and wait for her cell to ring. Though desperation made her chase the first opportunity and it’s led to waiting for her new employer to meet at this location.

She checks the time on her phone and sighs. V hates waiting. Absolutely despises it. Especially if it’s to meet a bunch of goons from the internet in some Ponzi scheme. From the advert, the job is to pick up the product and then sell it for profit at some chosen underground bars – something Padre would not approve of. V was hoping to get in and get out of Heywood as soon as possible to avoid any possible interaction with the fixer, still unable to face him properly after he set up a future within Atlanta and then helped her get out of it. It was too much to thank him for and too much pressure to admit why she came back.

At some point she drifted off to sleep while still standing. Only achievable with great exhaustion. Eventually a car drove up to the curb and woke her up. _Finally, about time these fuckers showed up. Was ‘bout to die from boredom – now the fun begins._

V’s eyes remained closed as the car doors opened and three men in slightly tattered suits came out of the car. Intending to joke around with them it is cut short when she suddenly feels a fist slam into the bridge of her nose. Her eyes snap open to see that there are three guns drawn on her, the man to her immediate left pressing his barrel to the side of her head.

“You guys know how to take a girl for a fun time, don’t ya?” She says through her teeth. Anger being an easy emotion to overtake V lately. “Thought I was here for a case of black lace and some easy eddies?”

The nicest dressed one situated in the middle starts to twirl his pistol around his finger. “Well, we got a nice offer to bring you in instead. People pay a nice price for an XBD starring a Heywood ex-merc.”

“Figures. The whole scheme is just a setup to get XBD… volunteers.” She forces a chuckle. _Fucking sickos._ “Curious… How much’m I worth?”

“About three – “

The altercation lasted less than five seconds. The laughter and unusual question threw them off and all three had let their guard down. First, in one fluid movement, V grabs her holstered revolver tucked against her side and launches her elbow into arm holding the shotgun to her head. It goes off blasting a cloud of concrete dust over the group. A quick squeeze of the trigger sends the man sprawling to the ground. V then slams the butt of the revolver down onto the head of the perpetrator to the left and puts a slug into his chest. Before he begins his fall, she swings her arm around and revolver-whips the leader, whose gun was halfway around his finger, and he lands face down onto the sidewalk.

With a steady hand, V empties out the empty revolver shells onto his back and reloads. “I think what you were about to say is that it would take about three secs to knock you guys out.” She snaps the cylinder back to its position to emphasize her point and slides it back into the holster.

The leader, hearing her reload, starts to pathetically crawl towards his gun that was flung a couple meters away. She strolls in front of him and pockets his gun, making a point to spin it around her finger first. Then the merc grabs him by the collar and throws him against the wall. He winces and cries out when she sends a few rapid-fire punches into his gut, finishing with a strong knee into his groin.

“Y’know I have, a soft spot for you guys. Never a drop of guilt when I can take out my anger on y’all.” _Great, now I speak like some NUSA southerner._ V holds a finger to her nose and wipes the trail of blood that’s starting to drip down. “But you went and broke my nose. Could’ve busted my cyberware too.”

The group leader straightens up and lets out a rattling breath. “Hope you die street-rat.”

V responds by sending her fist into his face, leaving much more than a broken nose. “Yeah, you too wannabe corpo-rat.”

_Closest bar is El Coyote Cojo. Hopefully Pepe is at the counter tonight and I can get a free shot and get cleaned up._

\--- * ---

Pepe slides a shot of tequila across the bar top towards V. “A little… anesthesia.”

V ignores him for the time being, preoccupied with examining her own hand. Black and purple splotches have already started to blossom across her left hand. She tenderly flexes the fingers of her left hand and messages her knuckles. _Fuck that wannabe corpo-shit._

Finally hearing Pepe, V looks up and catches herself in the mirror. V’s reflection stares back at her and she practically growls back. The light catches her eyes and show a fiery anger that had been gone for a long time. Her mouth is pressed firmly into a grimace. Most notably is the bridge of her nose that is crooked and bent at an unpleasant angle. The pressure building above the break causes V to squint in pain.

V turns to the shot on the bar and tilts it into her mouth. The liquid burns past her tongue and moves down her throat. She saves a drop and moves it across her teeth, reveling in the warmth that spreads throughout her body. It nearly numbs the pain from her nose and hand.

In one quick motion, she grabs her nose between her hands and sets it straight. The buildup of pressure releases and frees blood through her nostrils. “Oh, motherfucker!” V grabs a nearby napkin and pinches her nose. Stars fill her eyes while she stems the bleeding.

“Everythin’ chill, hermana? Haven’t seen you fo’ a minute.”

V scoffs. A loaded question if she answered honestly. After Atlanta, dead ex-girlfriend, and the past few weeks being back in the ‘City of Dreams’, her life was damn depressing. It was best to just avoid it, save it for a future output. “Fine Pepe, just a few guys jumped me for my eddies. Trust they’re left lookin’ worse than me.”

Still concerned for his friend, he pressed on. “Our guys? You get a good look at ‘em? I can round up chooms and handle it.”

“Ya really think somebody local’d try and mug me Pepe? Jus’ some shit-rats thinking they could get easy eddies.” _I really have been gone long, Pepe thinking I’d get jumped by locals, guess it could be possible. Just a neighborhood streetkid that left with moderate cred and came back with the same – just more moves._

Pepe smirked at her in response. “Glad to see your Atlanta excursion hasn’t changed you much. Still got bite.” His expression changed to a more serious one. “Listen V, I’m glad you came in. I got a serious problem.”

V dramatically rolls her eyes. She has a soft spot for friends and is always willing to help. “Give it to me then choom. Someone forget to pay their tab and señorita Welles is asking you to pay up?”

“Not Welles…” He takes a bit to finish his sentence, guilt clouding his face as he looks anywhere else except for V. “…its actually Kirk. I owe him big and he’s threatenin’ if I don’t pay by tomorrow, he breaks my legs. He’s got the cartels with him V, he means it!”

All friendly playfulness leaves V and instead is filled with condemnation. “You in it with Kirk? Every man, woman, and rat in Heywood knows he’s a fuckin’ shark. I leave and you lose all common sense, so you borrow from him?”

Pepe shakes his head. “I know I fucked up V. My bro jumped the joint, deserved a hero’s welcome that’s all.”

V slams her head into her palm. “Tell me he’s doin’ alright at least and that he didn’t get dragged back after the party?”

“Yeah, he’s got his own thing. That mean you’ll help?”

The merc pushes herself off the bar and nods. “I’ll talk to Kirk. Try to handle this my way, but you owe me a _hero’s welcome_ after” She exaggerates the last bit to show that there’s no hard feelings overall.

Without waiting for the bartender to respond V leaves the counter and heads for the second floor of the bar. As she turns her heal, she catches the eye of a cute Valentino girl giving her a look over. V looks away, cheeks burning, but she doesn’t return the sentiment.

\--- * ---

V stands outside the backside of the bar, taking a moment to force Night City air through her fixed nose and appreciate the familiar Valentino skull graffiti that adorns the alley. She took a mental note that she needed to start approaching things with a cooler head if she were to get back into the swing of Night City, but at least she got what she needed from Kirk.

Business with the Pacifica fixer did not go as planned. V was going to go with full intimidation and force Kirk to bend the knee and lay off Pepe’s debt, he was even in the perfect spot for it being tucked away in the farthest corner of the second floor. She strolled up to his booth and was immediately ticked off by what she saw. Big Joe shoving a burger in his face, sauce dripping on the floor and Kirk, his smug face nosing through the screamsheets.

A quick knee into Big Joe’s groin with an added elbow into his back, laid him out flat with a satisfying thump onto the floor, mopping the floor of his mess. Then she sat down in the booth and pulled out her revolver. Kirk was unfazed. He made a few comments about how he was glad that V was back in town and that her hot-headed attitude was reminiscent of the Animals in Pacifica. After a quick back and forth, with V threatening that she was backed by the Heywood boys and he had no business here, he offered a gig that would free Pepe of his dept and fill her wallet with some cash. She reluctantly took the job and saddled herself with a half-baked plan to steal a Rayfield Aerondight, one of four in NC, with some Kabuki-wizard tech.

V runs a hand through her hair and stops at her neck. She gives it a few rubs to ease her anxieties and starts to walk to the end of the alley. Embers garage, the location of the Aerondight, wasn’t too far away and she intended to take her time getting there by foot. Spotting a street beggar, she sends a few eddies his way, an attempt to remind herself of kinder, easier days. Generally, V tries to improve the world through small acts of kindness or pity and it also helps ease the heaviness on her mind.

She continues through the alley until she spots Padre and one of his bodyguards stuffing a body into the trunk of a car. V sticks to the wall attempting to blend in, not wanting to be spotted and face the fixer this soon. _Ah dammit, of course he’s here. I want to have my life slightly put together before seeing him, not ‘now’ when I look and feel like shit too._

“Ah Valerie, quit lurking in the shadows and come here.” The fixer spots her as if she was wearing neon against the brown brick wall. _He full named me… now I’m really screwed. Just play it off, be normal, cool-headed V._

“Well, if it isn’t Sebastian Ibarra.” She lets out a quick chuckle at her own inside joke, it’s soft and endearing. She approaches the car and gestures to the body in the trunk. “Guess some things in Heywood never change, do they?”

“I have not heard that name in a while.” He chuckles and nods for his associate to close the trunk of the car. He gives her a quick up and down look. “And no, some things in Night City never change. Unlike you, already see that you’ve come into some fights. C’mon I will drive you to where you are heading and give us some time to catch up.”

V hesitates before following Padre and settles next to him in the back seat. She briefly stares at her hands and picks at a fingernail, feeling overwhelmed by the haze of guilt that fills her being near him. Clearing her throat, she looks up once Marcus enters the driver seat. “Alright, I’m heading to the Glen. Embers garage. You can pull up to the back, I’ll tell you where to leave me.”

“You heard her Marcus.” The car drives off and V prepares for no doubt an awkward conversation. Padre presses his hands together letting his fingers intertwine and shifts his gaze onto V.

“So, many things have happened since you left with the nomads. You never reached out after completing the gig, how was Atlanta?”

V sighs and tries to look away from Padres magnetic gaze. She’s still filled with turbulent emotions surrounding her time in Atlanta and has avoided dealing with them since being back in Night City. Padre’s question opens that iron wall that she’s built around them. She grinds her teeth, blinks away the wetness that started welling in her eyes, and swallows the pressure building in her throat. After wrangling her feelings, she finally can give Padre a non-answer, the best she can do. “Atlanta itself was shit, not much better than Night City, just less people. Not much else to say.”

Padre’s eyes soften and he gestures for her to keep going. He kept tabs on her time in Atlanta, so he knows that V is holding back. 

V let out a long, shaky breath, she trusted Padre and this was a rare opportunity to open up and be vulnerable. “I don’ know Padre. I haven’t processed yet. I met someone who was as equally great as she was miserable and… I lost ‘er in a bad gig. It was my fault, or it was her fault, it doesn’t matter. I’d rather focus on life here for the time being.”

The priest/fixer nods and offers words of encouragement. He was good at making V feel at ease and had experience with comforting her. It’s interrupted with the sound of a roaring vehicle pulling next to them and a 6th street gang member yelling at them to pull over. Padre leans forward and tells Marcus to stop the car. He does and pulls off to the side.

Padre looks over towards V, still calm. “You carrying?”

V strangely welcomes the distraction. She was glad for her conversation with Padre but is much more fortunate to be able to slam close the barrier he opened. The window lowers and the 6th street goon sticks his head into the car, gun first. A brief talk between the fixer and him reveal that there’s still tension between territories around the Vista and Heywood. V, being in the direct middle of the encounter, whips her head back and forth between the conversation. Her head swimming with the idea of cracking the gang member’s head against the door and dealing with the bloody fall out.

He continues to argue with Padre and passes bargaining as not so subtle threats. V’s patience boils over and she interrupts him. “Just one more word and I’ll have your head crushed on the curb. Got any idea who you’re threatening?”

The 6th street member locks eyes with her. “Mind your business. I don’t know you.”

“And I don’t know you, meaning, that your word means shit around here and capable of even less.” The silence fills the car. “Well? Anything else to offer?”

Padre takes this moment to regain the conversation. “It seems our conversation has come to a close.”

The gang member lifts himself off the car. “Careful, Padre. Never know who has a barrel at your six. You neither, shit bucket.” He walks back to the car with the rest of his crew.

“Marcus please.” Padre motions for the driver to start driving. He gives V an improving nod. “Glad to see that you have not lost your roots. Maybe even more of a spark than before you left. So many of the little shits left around here… spines go soft at the sight of a barrel.”

“Who was that?” Curiosity always gets the best of V in these times.

“No one important. He’ll be gone in a weeks’ time and some other cockroach will slither to take his place.”

“He pulled iron on you. I was ready to crack his skull in place.”

“He did. He will pay for doing so.”

The rest of the short drive was filled with comfortable science. V stared off at Night City, taking in the neon lights and sights of people going on with their business. She noticed the parking garage and quickly motioned for Marcus to stop.

Before she exits the car, Padre puts a hand on her shoulder and places a card into her hands. It’s tan with a cross shaped sword ordained with roses and thorns with ‘Father Sebastian’ written on the blade. “Here, before you go.”

V takes the card and laughs. “Your number?”

“Could be important. Maybe we can work together again – take ourselves back in time.”

“Thanks, Padre. Oh, that reminds me, there’s a Colby with a trunkful of black lace sitting in an alley a few blocks from the Coyote.” V watches as his eyes squint in confusion and then finally gives her an approving nod. “Alright, gotta go!” She gets out of the car and hears Padre tells her to ‘go with God’ and for Marcus to head for that alley.

V walks up to the concrete highway barrier and presses her hands into the cold stone. She gives a quick look behind her, vaults over it landing hard on the garbage container below, giving a homeless vet a real fright, and sets off to the garage. 

\--- * ---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello! I hope this chapter was a good read, I'm super pumped to be back in NC and be able to recreate these scenes and add my own flair. I'm really trying to avoid doing a straight rehash of the story (ie. using the dialogue of the game except for specific quotes that are *chefs kiss*) cos that would be super boring to write and I imagine to read, so I will continue to do that in the future chapters. Thank you again for reading this far and now for reading my rambling note and for all the kudos!!


	7. hello night city

_Embers Garage (night)…_

Jackie can be found sitting on his Arch near the back of Embers garage, careful to stay in the shadows. The mid-June Night City air is cold against Jackie’s face. His bouncing leg polishes the side of the motorcycle as he kicks up swirls of dust clouds. Always a bit anxious before a gig he tries to relax with his usual mantra and plans. _Jackie Welles, future legend of the Afterlife. Step one. Wait for this guy to break into the car. Step two. Take the car for myself. Step three. Take Misty out for some – ah mierda – I should’ve stopped and grabbed a snack._ Jackie’s stomach begins to growl in response to his thoughts of food.

He had overheard a technician in Kabuki brag to a friend that he had managed to create an autohacking piece that can break into any hypercar on the market. The Kabuki tech also freely gave away that he had manage to sell it to some fixer who was planning on using it on a local Aerondight. Jackie was as good as a pro when it came to digging up information around Night City. After asking around he was able to piece together that the only reasonable place to steal one was from this garage, so he had been staking out the place since. He was essentially hoping to get lucky, but there have been zero news reports of a high-class carjacking and he wasn’t quite ready to give up on the opportunity to make it big.

From where he was positioned, Jackie was able to see both entrances to the garage. He nearly jolts off his bike when he hears the buckling and shrieking of metal. A figure passes in front of his view, unaware they were being carefully watched and studied. They walk slowly to the back entrance as they toss a gadget between their hands. Jackie thinks to himself while throwing a few air punches. _This is it. New set of wheels and off to the Afterlife for the sale._

Jackie lifts himself off his bike and sneaks through a stairwell off to the side that leads down into the garage. Just as he gets to the bottom, he hears the cacophony of cameras turning off and gears whirling as they all lower. He spots the Rayfield and moves to hide behind a pillar nearby. He watches as the merc move around the other cars, carefully checking that no one was around, apparently satisfied she deftly moves to the target car. Jackie holds his breathe and tries to make no sound. _Clearly this chica is careful, she’s small though so I can take her if it comes to a fight._

He can see her mouth move as she talks to someone on a call. “This piece of wonder tech better work.” Jackie notices the corner of her mouth raises as she ends the call. “Hope I n’ver see his ass in Heywood again.” The merc flashes the gadget allowing the car doors to slide open off to one side and she gets in. The door closes behind her and the window tint darkens.

_Go time._ Jackie straightens his jacket and tugs out the pistol shoved in his belt. He hardens his face for the confrontation. His boots land heavy on the cement and his golden bracelets clank against the Rayfield’s door frame. The door of the Rayfield opens again revealing the mercenary within and he presses the end of his gun into her face. Jackie can tell in the way that the clothes hang off her and the haggardness of her face that she’s been through hell and back.

Trying to remain unfazed he speaks. “Get the fuck out.”

“What the….?” Her face flashes with shock and indecision, momentarily glancing at the steering wheel of the car and then back to Jackie. She snaps her mouth shut and grips the wheel tight turning her knuckles white. Eventually, after what feels like an eternity, she relaxes with a heavy exhale through her nose and leans into the barrel. With a breath of sarcasm she says, “Easy, you blow my brains, gonna have to waste time cleanin’ it.”

“That’s why I said get-the-fuck-out. Nothin’ personal, compa. Just biz. Rayfield’s mine.” Jackie replies with a smile, shrugging his shoulders.

“Biz? Never hear of thief’s honor? Finder’s keepers and I was first.”

Jackie quickly loses the smile. “Listen, only one of two ways to do this – friendly or fucked up.” He reaches in the car to grab the merc and pull her out. “Both endings are the same – I’m taking the car.”

The two are interrupted by sirens, flashing lights, and the sounds of skidding tires. Jackie lets go and steps away from the car already holding his hands up for the NCPD. The merc leans back into the driver seat and contemplates gunning it one last time. Simultaneously they both respond to the noise. “¿Qué chingados…?” Jackie hears a ‘what the fuck now?’ behind him.

They are quickly surrounded by the Night City cops who assertedly start barking commands at the pair. Jackie drops his weapon onto the ground and feels his body thrown into the ground, head bouncing off the concrete. He hears his gun scitter and clank away from him. Seeing stars, he looks over to see that his now partner in crime is also now pinned to the ground, facing him and giving him a scathing look. _Listen chica, I didn’t bring these fuckers here._ As if she magically heard his thoughts, she scoffs and turns her head toward the man walking to them.

“Well look at who we got here boys, Jackie Welles, my ol’ pal from the hood. See you haven’t grown an ounce wiser.”

The cop holding on to Jackie tightened his grip and causes him to wince. “Hey, Detective Stints. Been a while, huh?”

Stints bends down to pick up Jackies weapon. He gives it a slow look over before pocketing it. “Its Inspector Stints now. Unlike you I’ve managed to move up in the world.”

“Same shit.” Jackie tries to shrug his shoulders, prompting a swift kick into his sides.

“Speaking of, your mug’s familiar too.” Stints puts his hands on his knees to bend down to V’s level. V shirks away from his analyzing gaze and turns away to look back to Jackie who’s currently hacking blood. Jackie is surprised to meet her eyes and see concern. “C’mon spit it out, I’m waiting.”

V turns back to him and says with a voice filled with venom. “How ‘bout that? A pig that’s learned to speak. Guess the _hood_ really is capable of miracles. Its lookin’ up for us Jackie.”

“Funny. I guess comedians can also find themselves crawling out of Heywood.” He gestures to a nearby officer. Jackie keeps his eyes trained on V as the officer cracks a baton across her back and finishes with a final kick into the head. After the onslaught she lowers her head against the cement floor, bracing with her forehead, somehow, she manages a small smirk, only visible to Jackie. Stints continues. “I’ll answer for you then. Left for Atlanta, say, two years ago. Looking for a slice of happiness if I can recall the talk on the street. Guess you didn’t find it. I’ve always maintained that it’s the same for all you termites in Heywood. Born here, live here, die here. Looks like I was right.”

Jackie can practically hear her teeth grinding together and the veins in her neck start to pop out. Her smirk quickly replaced with gritted teeth as she starts to tug against the cop holding her down. “You don’t know shit about me. Where I’ve come from or what I’m capable –”

“Shut her up.” He finally turns his attention away from her and back to Jackie.

“Just not the nose, she’s been through enough.” V takes a baton to the face and finally lays still.

Jackie still trained on her. _Still had nerve to crack jokes after that beating. Misty gonna have a field day with her – chica’s not right in the head._ He tears his attention away for her and faces Stint, trying to keep his face neutral. “Whatcha doin’ with us, _Inspector_ Stints?”

“Getting booked, gonna do a stint. Heh – get it?” He looks around expecting laughter from his terrible pun, there’s only a few boot-lickers in the group.

“Hey, c’mon Stints, give us a break. You gave us a good beating.” He does his best to gesture to V’s unconscious body. “You lock us up, well just jerk off till trial and then what? Worst case -- we get some months. Hell, standing room only nowadays in el bote, so we’ll prob’bly be out early.”

Jackie’s pleas are cut short by a man in a very expensive jacket, the apparent owner of the Rayfield, rushing over. Stints shoots up when he notices his arrival, cursing as he does so. It doesn’t take long for the Corpo to explain that it would be more convenient for him if the NCPD were to dump their bodies instead of allowing a trial to happen. He spins around with his assistant in toe, leaving Stints with the permission to do so.

“You heard ‘im. Put ‘em in the back.” Stints turns away from the two of them. He starts to walk away when Jackie is turned onto his back and receives the same treatment as V.

\--- * ---

V

_Alleyway (morning)…_

The sounds of tires squealing out of the alley jar V awake. She presses her eyes tight at the sudden onslaught of bright, natural light on her face. Cracking one eye open, V catches the back of the NCPD car as it disappears out of the alley, they had just been dumped in. Finally adjusted to the sunlight, she looks around and is surprised to see Jackie next to her already nursing his own wounds. Seeing him reminds her of their attempted carjacking.

Her memory from last night was spotty at best. Flashes of it blocked her thoughts as she messaged her new unwelcomed bruises. Though, she was partial to the purple splotches forming on her right side, received after successfully getting under Stints skin. After fully checking her body, she finally reaches up to her face already feeling the throbbing of her, once again, broken nose.

“Y’know chica, saying ‘not the face’ is the best way to get exactly what you got.”

V responds to his dig at her with a halfhearted, “shut up.” She tenderly grabs her nose with both hands, using the cybernetics as a grip, and finally jerks the middle back straight. It pops back into place with a heavy crack, again sending a wave of dark blood out of her nose. V sharply inhales through her teeth, sending needles into her lungs, and grasps the empty air Infront of her. “Motherfucker! If I get another one of these it’ll be too soon.”

Jackie lets out a laugh and waits for V to recover. “Honestly, for a sec there, didn’t think we were going to worm our ways outta that alive. You were out, but a Corpo nearly had us thrown into the ocean.”

She grunts in response, still not fully warming up to his presence. “I’m sure I helped with that. He wouldn’t have just followed what that Corp’ wanted. Stints is Heywood-born, hates them as much as us.”

Jackie nods, but takes a moment to respond. He shuffles his feet and begins to bounce his leg. “If I hadn’t had come, you’d be cruisin’ Night City in sexy wheels right now.”

“Puh-lease, gig was cursed from the start. I doubt that Kabuki-tech magic would’ve actually been able to crack the security. Hell, you saw how fast the cops were on us, never could get out the garage with that heat.”

“So, maybe as God ordained.” He looks up with excitement beaming from his face. He gently nudges V with his elbow and says, “Jackie Welles.”

“V.” She responds, matching his excitement with a look of bewilderment crossed with distrust.

Jackie is hit with recognition. “I know you! You hang out at the Coyote. Flattened some Valentino before you left Heywood."

“Yeah, got the job to that car from there actually… from Kirk.” V slams her head into her palm, remembering that she actually agreed to do this job instead of just kicking his teeth in.

“Kirk? You took a job from that slime bag? You got mouth but didn’t think you were some gonk.”

V rolls her eyes at the comment. “I took it to help out Pepe. He was in it big with Kirk and couldn’t pay up. So, I stepped in to grab the bag.”

“Man, gotta wonder about Pepe, letting slimy Kirk boss around him like that.”

“Heard what they say – backed by cartels.” V defends.

“Cartels? No. I know them cartel types, none would even know who he is. That settles it then, let’s go get some lunch. You look like you need about half a year’s full.” He gets up from the steps that they’ve been thrown against and begins to brush off the dust and dried blood that’s clinging to him.

V ignores his last comment, but his put off by his sudden niceties. “Lunch? You just had a barrel on my skull not but a bit ago.”

“You help my homies, so you’re okay in my book. No harm, no foul?” He reaches a handout to V, a gesture of sincerity.

She had to admit to herself that there was a part of her that was tugged by his energy. Seeing his outstretched hand reminded herself of his concerned look when she was getting the NCPD beatdown. _Plus he must have been at least partially responsible for why we’re not floating feet up right now._ V, eventually, throws her hands up. “None at all.”

“Getting one of my good feelings.” He gestures back and forth between the two of them. “Plus, I’m sensing some chemistry ‘tween us, y’know? C’mon, I’m fuckin’ starved.”

_This guy. Gotta admit he has a point; I can sense it to, like we could blow up the world._ V leans on her knees and pushes herself off the ground. “A’right, food it is. But you’re paying, consider that one of my good feelings.”

\--- * ---

V

_Thai noodle cart…_

Without an ounce of embarrassment V slurps down half a container of Pad Thai noodles in one breath. The other half is gone in an equally loud bite. She sets it down with a satisfied sigh and looks over to Jackie who’s still picking out just the meat. _How can someone so big eat so slow?_

Jackie continues to prod at his own noodles. “I’m not buying you another one, if that’s why you’re looking at me like that.”

“No, of course not.” V sighs and rests her chin on palm, looking out at the city traffic. _Just wondering how hard those pigs hit my head for me to easily ‘come chooms with you._ “Hurry up, I have to pick up my stuff from the bar.”

He continues to slowly stuff his face and with his mouth full replies, “Can’t rush these things V.”

She sighs and waits for him to finish. “You’re a really annoying friend.”

\--- * ---

V

_El Coyote Cojo (evening)…_

Pepe shouts from across the bar. “V! You lucky son of a – wait – Jackie? You guys chooms?”

“Yeah, guess so, bought me noodles. He tried to carjack the car I was carjacking and here we are.” V called back to him and then added, “I need a strong one Pepe.”

Jackie pushes Infront of V to grasp Pepe in an embrace, fists prodding into the others backs. Then he shoves him away and says, “you borrowed from Kirk? Tomaste prestado de Kirk and then dragged V in to fix it? The two start to argue to themselves, though V was paying little attention to them.

She finally reaches the two, circles around behind the bar and pours herself a double shot of tequila. The next time the glass hits the counter it’s empty. “Listen boys, this has been great.” They’re voices are too loud and cover her attempt to interrupt them. She taps her fingers against the glass, thinking, _God. Men can be so annoying_ – a _lways have to yell through anything._

Beginning to get impatient waiting for them to finish, V shuffles on her feet. She vaults over the bar top in between them and reaches up to clasp them both on the shoulder to bring them down to her level. “Let me get this straight.” She jostles Jackie and continues, “you’re upset cause I took on a favor to help Pepe,” her attention turns to Pepe, “and you’re angry cause your chooms are safe and Kirks tucked tail?”

A simultaneous, “that’s ‘bout right,” and laughter that shakes to the core answers V. She rolls her eyes following the motion with her head and she untangles from them both. A turn of her heel and she faces them both, one hand high on her hip and the second hanging from her pant’s pocket.

“This has been fun. Really. But, I’m beat. You get another job, that doesn’t involve cars, hit me up on the holo.” V nods, shoulders her bag, and is about to make her way to the exit when Jackie holds up his hand to stop her.

“V, you got a place to crash?”

“Don’t worry ‘bout me, I’ll figure it out.” The tired merc turns around again to the door.

“Chica,” the endearment washes over V and she stops mid-step, “you can’t get back on your feet on the streets. You can stay with mi mamá and me, she’ll fuss over you and judge your clothes, but…” he trails off looking for the right word, “she’s family.”

V buries the immense feeling of relief that fills her with Jackie’s words. She understands the implications of what he’s saying that his home is an open invitation straight into a new family. “I guess,” V spins around and gives Jackie her best attempt at a smile, “only if she doesn’t fix my hair and pack me lunches.”

“Let’s go then, _hermana._ She probs has some dinner made up too.”

_Always food with him._ V catches Pepe back behind the bar giving them an approving look. “Pepe, we’ll catch you later, uh, give a call before takin’ Kirk’s eddies again.”

“Good one.”

\--- * ---

Jackie

Jackie leads V out the back door down to the alley, his home is right next door. V had to wrestle her duffle bag away from him to keep him from carrying it himself. After a scathing lecture and several punches into his own bruises, he throws his hands up and tosses the bag back to her. She catches it and slings it onto her back, groaning when it falls on the linear bruises there. 

He starts walking backwards. “Yo, you gotta hide that better, we’re gonna be there in a sec. She’ll freak if she sees you like that, créeme.”

“Relax Jack. Worry about y’self anyway, need to watch where you’re goin’. You nearly flattened some gonk in a Samurai shirt earlier today, the next guy may try to flatline us.”

“It’s good chica, jus’ got to keep making sure you don’t run off when my back is turned. You got a habit of disappearing, I’ve heard. Plus, who could flatline us, we’ll be legends in this city!”

They arrive at the Welles home. Jackie softly nudges V through the door of his home and steps around her to get by. “Mamá! I’m home! I got a choom you’d like to meet.”

“Jacquito Welles. Mijo, I was worried when you didn’t come home–.“ She rounds the corner out of the kitchen and stops when she see V.

V remains motionless, stopping a few feet into the house. Jackie walks back to her and pulls her by the arm to his mom. “Ma, this is V, she needed a place to stay for a bit, so I invited her here.”

Suddenly in front of Jackie’s mom she loses all confidence. “Hi, sorry to intrude, if it’s not okay, I – I can go.”

Mamá Welles closes the distance between herself and V and takes her head in her hands. She takes a moment and gives her a protective pat on the shoulder. Jackie watches his mom pull her into the kitchen and force her to sit down on the table, while she pulls out a small medkit. V squirms in the seat, uncomfortable with the attention. _I knew she wouldn’t be able to turn her away. Look at that face, V hasn’t been cared for in who knows how long. I’ll flatline whoever hurt her, el puta madre._

“You’re the one that Pepe’s giving a discount on drink to, right?” She opens the medical bag and applies antiseptic to the bridge of V’s nose.

V chuckles trepidatiously. “If I say _yes_ do I have to find a corner to sleep in?”

“No, you’re fine. Just making sure that when my boy says V, that she’s the one that’s been stopping fights in my bar. Though, you also tend to start them too.”

While his mom is busy with V, he sneaks bites of tonight’s dinner that was abandoned on the table. After Mamá Welles puts the finishing touches on V’s nose she spots Jackie trying to grab another bite of food. “Jackie, where’s your manners? I know I raised you better. Take V upstairs so she can clean up and get comfortable, then we can have dinner. Go.”

He straightens up. “Lo siento, Mamá. V, c’mon, up this way.”

V gets up and follows Jackie up the stairs. She stops halfway up and leans down from the railing. “Gracias, Mrs. Welles, I appreciate… well, everything.”

“Please call me Mamá, V. And no need to thank me, para eso es familia.”

Jackie stops at the top of the stairs and listens to their quick exchange. He smiles wide at the quick acceptance of V into his family. _Qué día tan loco. I was prepared to blow her head off and now my mom’s asking her to call her Mam_ _á. How’d that happen in this city?_

Once they’re in Jackie’s room, V drops her bag and checks on herself in the mirror. Jackie throws himself on the bed and takes a call. “Jackie Welles. What can I do for you, Padre?” He completes the call and launches himself off the bed, appearing behind V. “We got a gig, V.”

She jumps when he slaps her shoulders. “What? Can we first –?

“Sleep? No this ones too good to wait.”

V grabs her bag and finds her side holster with her revolver. “I was going to say change, you can fill me in on the details on the way.”

\--- * ---

Judy

_Lizzies Bar…_

Judy rarely leaves the comfort of her space in Lizzie’s basement. The dim blue light and dark red illumination from her equipment reminiscent of her diving trips. The upper floors of the bar were always filled with patrons and even under the careful eye of the other Moxes, there was always the risk for unwanted attention. Even without the people, the constant bass of the music and pulse from the blue/purple lights was enough to give her a throbbing headache.

Tonight, was a rare exception. Her ex, Maiko, was constantly ringing her phone, bugging her about sweaters that she still hasn’t been able to find. Judy needed a minute to escape from being reminded that she was trapped in that relationship and now stuck tuning smut. She grabs a drink from the bar, giving Mateo a friendly smile, and returns to the hallway that leads to the dressing room. Judy leans against the wall of the small alcove and participates in some good old-fashioned people-watching.

The hallway is lined with private rooms with glass doors revealing various braindance users and girls fulfilling their wishes. It was always a weird feeling watching people, mainly men, enjoy her BDs. She was proud of her work and partly enjoyed it, but she forced herself to look away. Trying to find something else, Judy’s eyes fall on a large man and significantly smaller woman having a lovers’ quarrel in front of one of the rooms closest to the changing room. She scoots along the wall to get a better look and to hear them better, always looking for inspiration for another BD.

The woman peaks into the private room and turns back to the man. Judy has a hard time discerning her, but the stress is plain given how she holds her body. She whispers to him, voice bordering a whine, “Jackie, please, do you know what he’s watchin’ in there? I can’t, it’s too weird.”

The man crosses his arms, the synth-leather of his jacket groaning in the process. He lowers his voice to match hers, “V, you can’t be serious, you just gotta go in and grab the case. I’m not asking for you to replace the girl and sit on ‘is lap.”

V straightens her posture as an attempt to match his height. Her voice echoes his irritation. “Well, are _you_ willing to go in and get it? What if he shakes out of the BD and reaches out to grab you thinking he’s… y’know? How would your girl react?”

Judy would laugh if she wasn’t blatantly spying on the two. _V and Jackie. What are you up to?_

He shakes his head, and his shoulders bob up and down from quiet laughter. “We got a plan, V, you ‘greed to it.” He holds his fist out between them and dramatically stares off into the distance. “’Sides, my love for Misty can survive some ass grabbing pendejo.”

V slaps down his hand and turns to lean her back against the wall. “Fine, you win. _But_ ,” she raises her hands and brings them together in a chopping motion, “if he touches my ass, _you_ have to tell Padre why we were chased out of the bar.” She draws her arms up and starts tapping her foot. The dim light from the posters casts a playful shadow against her face as she leans her head up to stare at the ceiling.

Judy brings up her glass and laughs into it, no longer able to contain herself. _Padre? That’s the fixer in Heywood. Suze would flip if she knew two merc were sneakin’ ‘round Lizzies. Guess it’s no lovers quarrel, girl can’t even stan’ the idea of a man touchin’ her._ She takes the moment to fully examine V head to toe, stopping when she finally notices that V’s eyes are lazily trained on her through semi-closed lids.

When their eyes meet, V momentarily opens her mouth in surprise and quickly replaces it with a half opened, crooked smile. Judy lowers her glass, fully meeting V’s soft gaze. In the few seconds that pass, they lose themselves in the connection. Judy’s heart beats loudly against her chest.

They’re both brought back to the present when a Mox girl leaves the private room and moves in between them. Judy sees V slip a roll of eddies into her hand and thank her with a nod.

In the distraction, Judy backs up into the alcove, separating herself and the situation. She lets her hair fall to cover her face. From where she is, Judy sees V hesitantly step forward off the wall and give Jackie one last pained look. He doesn’t reciprocate and instead is bouncing on the balls of his feet and gestures her to go first. The door slides open with a soft rush of air and she strides in. She hears a soft yelp as Jackie replaces her in the room and is follows by the heavy sound of a fist slamming into a person’s face. V relaxes in the doorway and gives a quick pat to the briefcase. She turns around furrowing her brow, suddenly remembering the quick and intimate moment with Judy, but then she’s taken into the air as Jackie leaves the room hoisting her onto his shoulder and he barrels down the hallway with a wide smile.

Judy faintly hears, “way to go V, our first gig together! Wasn’t so bad, righ’ choomba?” It’s followed by a disgruntled, “wait! Put me down! Jack, I didn’t sign up for this!” V’s head whips back and forth searching the hallway for one last sign of Judy, then they turn the corner back onto the main floor of Lizzies. Judy follows stopping at the doorframe and puts a hand on her hip. She strains to listen to the hardy laughter over the music with more faint, feminine laughs buried under the noise. She watches the pair bounce through the crowd with V pounding on his back. Judy’s breath catches in her chest when their eyes find each other across the dancefloor, catching one last look of V’s full-teeth grin and before the two mercs disappear out the entrance.

Judy braces herself against the wall and tries to gather her thoughts about the whirlwind of chaos that just took place. _What the fuck? Aren’t mercs supposed to be serious, blood-thirsty killers chasin’ after the highest bidder, not these two…?_ An elbow into her side breaks her over of her reverie.

“Crazy right? The pair of them, not what I expected when Suzie said I was helping out a pair of Streetkids take on a gig.”

“Alice? Oh… I didn’t notice that you were still so close by.”

Alice pats the pockets of her shorts to check that her cash there. “Yeah. Consider it morbid curiosity if they were actually gonna klep that case from their Joe. The big guy, Jackie, barely could sit still when we were going over the plan in Suzie’s office. The woman goes by V, she was all cool as a cucumber over the whole deal. Kept shooting looks at him to calm down, but then badgered Suzie with questions.”

“V.” Judy rolled the letter around her tongue. She regains her sourness from earlier to cover up her silence and mask her growing curiosity over the merc. “They’re a pair of gonks the two of ‘em, probs won’t make it more than another week in Night City.”

Alice replied without noticing Judy’s pause. “Maybe, but I wouldn’t be sad if V showed her pretty face back here.” She walked away back to her station before Judy could respond.

Judy downs the rest of her drink that she’s been nursing all this time. _And I came up here to distract m’self from women, not get caught up in another one. That damn smile._ She wrestles away from her thoughts and stomps down the hidden stairs leading to her basement.

\--- * ---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this chapter taking so long and being long. Thanks for reading!!!


End file.
